Major oil spill in Alabama is receiving no media attention.

A major oil spill in Alabama is getting no attention from mainstream media.

The leak was first discovered on September 9.

As of now, the leak has spilled 336,000 gallons of gasoline.

Colonial Pipeline has a bad track record of oil spills.

A major oil spill in Alabama is receiving no media attention, despite being the fourth largest spill in the history of America. The lack of media attention oddly enough is happening in the middle of a massive standoff against the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.

The leak was discovered on September 9 by an Alabama Surface Mining Commission inspector that was conducting a routine inspection. The check was at an inactive coal mine.

The birth of Colonial Pipeline.

The Colonial Pipeline first came to fruition when eight major oil companies began discussing the construction of a Gulf Coast to East Coast pipeline.

Construction of Colonial Pipeline’s original system began in 1961 after Sinclair Pipeline Co., Texaco Inc., Gulf Oil Co., American Oil Co., The Pure Oil Co., Phillips Petroleum Co., The Cities Service Co. and Continental Oil Co. came together to file incorporation papers for Suwannee Pipe Line Company.

In 1962, the Suwannee Pipe Line Company board members came together to rename the company Colonial Pipeline Company. The oil giant Mobil also joined the company.

Later in the year; the company announced that their agenda was to launch “the largest single, privately financed construction project in the history of the United States.”

On June 20, 1962, the groundbreaking ceremony was performed the Colonial Pipeline Project. On April 27, 1964, the pipelines first batch was of refined oil was delivered to Roanoke, Virginia. By 1984, the pipeline was delivering oil to Department of Defense, Defense Fuel Supply Command.

Owners of the pipeline include Koch Industries with 28.09%, South Korea’s National Pension Service and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with 23.44%, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec with 16.55%, Royal Dutch Shell with 16.2%, and Industry Funds Management with 15.8%.

A history of leaks from Colonial Pipeline.

Colonial Pipelines is riddled with a history of leaks dating back to 1970 when 30,186 gallons were leaked in Jacksonville, Maryland. On

December 19, 1991, the pipeline ruptured about 3 miles from the Simpsonville, South Carolina pump station. The rupture allowed for 500,000 gallons of Diesel oil to leak into Durbin Creek.

In 1993, a pipeline by Herndon, Virginia owned by the Colonial Pipeline Company ruptured. The rupture caused Diesel fuel to spray 75 feet into the air.

In 1994, following heavy rains in Houston, a total of eight pipelines failed, with 29 other damaged. Two of the failed pipelines belonged the to Colonial Pipeline Company. Due to the failure, Colonial’s 36-inch pipeline ruptured. The pipeline had been out of service, so the spill was said to be limited.

In 1996, a 36-inch diameter pipeline ruptured near Reedy River, near Fork Shoals, South Carolina. The pipeline leaked 957,600 gallons of fuel into the Reedy River. Roughly 35,000 fish, aquatic lifeforms and wildlife were killed due to the spill. Colonial Pipeline would end up paying $20.5 million for cleanup and settlement.

In 1997, Colonial Pipeline spilled 18,900 gallons of gasoline, dome of which spilled into an unnamed creek and the Bear Creek watershed near Athens, Georgia.

In 2003, Colonial Pipelines was fined $34 million by the United States Environmental Protection Agency due to being responsible for seven spills in four years.

Temporary pipeline would bypass Shelby County.

On Saturday, Colonial Pipeline announced they were going to build a temporary pipeline bypassing the main gas line located in Shelby County, Alabama. There has been no timeline given as to how long it will take to bypass the damaged pipeline.